Six chain-snatchers held

Hyderabad: As many as six chain-snatching offenders, belonging to various interstate gangs, were apprehended by the city police on Friday. They recovered as much as one kg stolen gold besides three bikes from their possession.

The accused were identified as Mohd Rasheed Khan, 32, of Uppal, Mohammed Sayeed Ali, 34 and Shaik Arshad Ali, 25, auto-drivers from Aurangabad and Afroz Khan, 24,

of Somajiguda were arrested by the east zone Task Force police, while Mir Ayan Ali, 26, of Jalgaon and Syed Ahmed Ali, 24, cabbie from Talabkatta were arrested by the south zone police, said city police commissioner M Mahender Reddy.

During a press conference at his office in Basheerbagh, the commissioner said the gang arrested by the task force police was involved in as many as 19 offences of chain-snatchings and the gang arrested by the south zone police was involved in 11 cases.

He said the accused persons were all earlier involved in cases of thefts, robberies and burglaries. They target women walking alone on the roads and snatch the gold chains from them by moving on high-speed bikes.

The members of both the gangs used to leave the city after committing offences and come back after some days and again indulge in offences, the commissioner said.